1. House shoots down bill targeting University of Utah's gun ban
Associated Press (UT)
March 7, 2002
Byline: PATTY HENETZ
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Utah House has defeated a bill that would have
allowed the Legislature to halve the University of Utah's administrative
budget if it continued to ban guns on campus.
The 35-38 vote came during the last hour on the last day of the 2002 Utah
Legislature's general session.
The bill was generally assumed to be aimed at the university, but the
sponsor, Sen. Mike Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, earlier assured the Senate
that the bill wasn't punitive. He portrayed it as creating a way to notify
agencies or groups when a legislator says they are not following Utah
statutes.
During an earlier debate on the bill, Sen. David Steele, R-West Point,
pointed out that audit committees already are available to examine
agencies and their practices. Moving in on its function would run the risk
of setting up the legislative branch as the judicial branch, he said.
The measure would have put up to half of any state agency's administrative
budget in jeopardy if a legislator found it was not following Utah
statutes.
The bill, which had passed the Senate 18-10, would have required the
chairs of both appropriations subcommittees overseeing the affected state
agency to agree with the legislator who found fault with the agency.
After committee hearings and pubic testimony, if the agency still refused
to obey, it could be subject to penalties, including losing half its
budget, including salaries and benefits.
In January, University of Utah President Bernie Machen was called before
legislators to defend the 20-year ban on guns at his campus. House Speaker
Marty Stephens, R-Farr West, said the campus rule infringed on the state's
concealed-weapons laws.
Machen was warned he could face financial sanctions. He told legislators
he was willing to go to court to defend the ban.
Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has said that papers in the lawsuit
testing the ban could be filed next week.
In arguing against the bill, Rep. Afton Bradshaw, R-Salt Lake City, said
it had "a hint of revenge."
"Who are we to go in and be judge and jury," she said.
After the vote Wednesday, Patrice Arent, D-Salt Lake City, said of the
legislative session: "See, there are a few successes."

"You can watch things happen, you can make things happen, or you can wonder what the fuck just happened." ~ Phil Harris RIP